A Roar, A Lioness

शेरनी. Sherni. Lioness.

A warrior, a word connotated with a powerful female.

I am imperfect. I have hurt people. I have shot down help from the people that cared about me and I didn’t recognise the love and warmth of people who spent their nights awake for me. I made mistakes.

But that doesn’t define me. Mistakes don’t define me or who I am.

It is the recognition of a mistake that makes me a Sherni. It is the courage to face it and apologise that makes me a Sherni.

It is the courage to co-exist with myself and face everyone and prove to myself that I’ve grown that makes me a Sherni.

For some people, I will only exist in memories now. I will only exist in the good and the bad, I will only exist in their past.

But, I exist today for myself. I wake up today with a bright new chance to change everything and give myself a rebirth. I exist today with a chance to be a phoenix and rise up from the ashes that were meant to bury me.

Amidst self-help books, posting on social media, maintaining friendships and getting good grades, I am not going to let my growth get lost.

They won’t see me growing, but they don’t have to. I don’t control who I am in someone else’s eyes. All I control is who I am in my eyes, and I know exactly what I am to me.

I am strong. I am empowered. I am vocal. I am thoughtful. I am forgiving. I am loving.

I am a Sherni.